Category Archives: Lawyer Good
Great advice
Legal Advice Every Lawyer Should Know
Not exactly sophisticated, however the message rings true.
These lawyers have tips for people stopped by the cops with weed: ‘Shut the f*ck up’ pic.twitter.com/1X66GlXSlr— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 1, 2019
Regardless of your chosen field at some point you will receive a client phone call “the cops are here” The best advice; the only advice (see video above)
Learn How to Lawyer
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Congratulations! You’ve graduated law school. You’ve passed the bar. Now it’s time to really learn what lawyering is about.
Law School teaches the law. Sophisticated Lawyer teaches lawyering.
If you haven’t already, join your relevant local bar associations (even if you are still in law school). If you don’t have a mentor, get one. Want to be a trial lawyer, go see other trial lawyers in action. Courtrooms are open to the public. Attend continuing legal educations. Make checklists. Read. Keep reading.
Here is a list of some must-read books for any attorney new or old.
1. McElhaney’s Trial Notebook
A clear, practicable and knowledgeable book for litigators in all legal arenas. Written by Jim McElhaney, a professor at Southern Methodist University, what began as a small journal column discussing trial techniques evolved into this best-selling legal book. Having read many procedure and evidence books, few explain it as well.
2. Sun Tzu’s, Art of War
An ancient Chines military general, strategist and tactician, Sun Tzu’s theories and strategies are put to print in this text that has been applied by business men and women, politicians, lawyers and beyond. In fact, you won’t be long on the job before you hear a lawyer quote this book.
3. Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover
Renowned voice on money and business, Dave Ramsey brings his proven and trusted money management plan to print, providing a step-by-step playbook on ensuring your money has a purpose.
4. Ric Edelman, The Truth About Money
Similar to Dave Ramsey, Ric Edelman is a leading voice in the financial world and gives us this popular book explaining everything from personal finance to investments to life insurance. This book and Dave Ramsey’s above will give you the tools to ensure your worries are focused on clients, not bills.
5. McCarthy’s Cross-Examination
A must have for any lawyer serious about litigating, specifically cross examination.
Free DWI Manuals
Here is a free link to everything DWI related including:
Standard field sobriety testing (SFST) instructor and student manuals;
Drug Impairment and Drug Recognition (DRE) instructor and student manuals;
Advanced Roadside Impairment Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) instructor and student manuals.
Why Lawyer?
This is why we do what we do. Lawyering is a service that if done right can calm the roughest seas, right the ship and create a shipmate for life.
How many drinks to get drunk?
Regardless of your field of practice, if you’re a lawyer you can bet the house you will be asked about DWI; What do i do if I am pulled over and have been drinking? How many drinks does it take to get drunk? Below, provides an explanation of how many drinks it may take to become intoxicated under the law.
How is intoxication defined?
Most states define intoxication as having lost the normal use of one’s mental and/or physical faculties or having a blood alcohol level 0.08 or higher at the time of driving.
Calculating your blood alcohol content (BAC)
For an old school way of calculating your blood alcohol level, keep reading. For the new school way of doing it, you can type “blood alcohol calculator”into Google and find a number of online calculators.
Widmark Formula – the OG of Blood Alcohol Calculations
The most widely known formula for calculating blood alcohol content is the Widmark formula, named for Swedish Scientist, Erik M.P. Widmark (1889-1954) who was considered a pioneer in forensic toxicology.
The Widmark formulafocuses on how alcohol behaves in the body from the time it is consumed to the time it is eliminated.
Widmark Formula
Blood Alcohol Content = [alcohol consumed in grams / (body weight in grams x r)] x 100
(“r” refers to the distribution of water in the bodyand is a constant number of 0.55 for females and 0.68 for males)
A standard drink = one 12 oz beer, one 5 oz glass of wine, or one 1 ½ oz shot of liquor.
A standard drink is 14 grams.
Beginning the calculation of your blood alcohol level:
1) Alcohol consumed in grams (i.e. how much have you had to drink):
- Standard drinks consumed x 14 = alcohol consumed in grams.
2) Body weight in grams:
- Body weight in pounds x 454 = body weight in grams
3) Body weight in grams x “r”
- Body weight in grams x (0.55 for females or 0.68 for males)
4) Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
- Plug in the numbers and multiply by 100 = Blood Alcohol Content
5) How long have you been drinking?
- Blood Alcohol Content – (Number of hours since drinking started x 0.015) = Approximate Blood Alcohol Content
0.015 refers our the rate our bodies metabolize alcohol per every hour.
This formula and any other online blood alcohol content calculator is an approximation at best. Because two people are not alike, there are many factors that impact the way a person’s body metabolizes alcohol. Also, Blood alcohol concentration is a percentage of ethanol/alcohol in the blood. For example a 0.08 means there are 0.08 grams of alcohol for every 100 mL of blood.
See below a chart that approximates your blood alcohol level based on number of drinks, number of hours spent drinking and body weight.
In calculating your blood alcohol level over a period of time you would subtract 0.015 for every hour spent drinking. For example, if you were a 200 lb. male who had 8 drinks you would find 0.15 on the chart above. If you had those 8 drinks over 3 hours you would subtract 0.045 (0.015 * 3 hours) from 0.15. Thus, your approximate BAC would be 0.10 (o.15 – 0.045).